Never Again
by Dustpool
Summary: Swaine always had nightmares, it was a thing that reminded him of everything good and everything bad. But never did he dream that Esther would be someone like him ( SwainexEsther ) [ Sorry for bad summary, will be updated, as will the name ]
1. Chapter 1

**This would be my first Ni No Kuni fanfic, and even if I, myself, do not own the game, I'm watching InTheLittleWood on YouTube play it and I am saving up for it myself. SwainexEsther was always a very nice little ship. I'm unsure if it has a ship name, but that would be fun xD**

**Hopefully this won't be very OOC, it may be a bit, very sorry~**

**Anyway, sorry for mistakes, enjoy****_!_**

* * *

Swaine tossed and turned in his bed, locked within a nightmare - luckily not the one like before. Oh no, this was far worse.

"Father..." He muttered, kicking at the hot covers over his body. "No, no, father!" He muttered louder, holding the sheets tightly, his hands slightly white. "Damn it!" He was mildly sure he yelled from his room in the Inn.

Swaine felt tears rolling down his cheeks. "Father... I just wanted to make you proud!" He growled out, the pain within his heart deep as he tried to win through his deathly raw dream. Remembering the feeling of life leaving him. "I'm sorry..."

His mind was hazy as he remembered the day in full detail in his nightmare, the sound of his brother crying, the place he sat. He could recall every little thing like it had just happened.

"Swaine..." He could also remember the voice of Esther, but this voice was too real to be from his dream, and he was pretty sure someone was shaking him.

But he felt locked within the past like a robin locked in a cage.

Kicking at his covers more, Swaine told his body to wake him, fighting through the battle in his mind to find the girl shaking him awake. "Swaine!" He heard her yell in his ear.

He whimpered, something he'd once done as a child and to this day, hated doing, showing how weak he was to these dreams of the past.

The dreams he'd been having for nights now, but no one had once bothered to wake him from them.

He tossed once again, feeling the covers being pulled away from him and at that minute he felt like he didn't want to wake up. He knew the voice and he knew she'd ask him what- "Gascon!"

His eyes shot open, tears still trailing down his cheeks. The image of a girl stood before him, the breeze from the window making his body cold. "Esther?" He whispered, trying to calm his breathing.

Swaine watched the girl, her hands on her hips as she glared at him slightly, but her gaze seemingly grew soft, almost mocking. "Are you not going to tell me why you were yelling? I'm next door you know." Esther said, rolling her eyes.

Swaine quickly dismissed what she said, if she heard him, she should know. "Are _you_ going to tell _me_ why you're in _my room_?" He asked, watching the girl with tearful, cloudy eyes, tears trails on his red cheeks.

"Are _you_ going to put some clothes on?" Esther smirked, her eyes quickly going up and down his body as she handed his cover back to him, giggling slightly as she watched him quickly pull it around himself.

Swaine growled, trying to stop more blood flowing to his already scarlet cheeks. "Most men my age sleep in their pants you know." He muttered, rolling his eyes at her.

Esther's gaze was soft, the mocking replaced by a type of worry. "Well..." She seemed slightly uneasy as she parted her lips again. "Are you going to tell me how you got-"

"No." Swaine growled out, this time anger slowly making its way through his body, she'd been the one to pull away his cover, he didn't ask for it. "Go back to bed, you hear me, Esther! Go to your room!"

The girl turned without another word, her hands fitted neatly back on her hips, she walked from the room, swinging her hips like the girl he was.

And Swaine couldn't pull his eyes from her until the door was shut.

He felt a small tug at his heart as he recalled his own words. _"Go back to bed, you hear me, Esther! Go to your room!"_ It made him anger to think of myself like that. He slightly wondered if he'd ever say that to a child of his own...

"No." He muttered, closing his eyes again and unlocking the gate to his nightmare once again.

* * *

"How did you sleep?" Oliver asked the next morning, Esther sat across from him, drinking a glass of water and eating an apple, something she'd only ever eaten once before in her life. Swaine sat next to her, gently sipping at his coffee, black around the eyes.

Esther spoke, her voice slightly sleepy, but she tried to sit up tall. "Well, but Swaine woke me up with all his yelling. Remind me to _never_ get a room next to his."

"Do you think I wanted to have the same bloody nightmare I have every night? No one told you to come and wake me anyway." Swaine muttered under his breath, slightly hoping she hadn't heard.

But she had, Esther hears everything.

Her words hurt and he felt the colour light his pale cheeks. "No one told me _not_ to, I wish I hadn't, the only thing you were wearing was your pants, and I really never want to see your body without your clothes on again."

Oliver let out a slight chuckle, trying to hide the smile twitching at his lips.

Swaine quickly rose to his feet. "Well? Are we leaving?" He asked, his hand drumming on the base of his gun.

Drippy jumped on the table. "Sure mun! We should move out anyway, right Ollie-boy?" The fairy said, smirking and jumping off the table.

_"It would be so easy just to shoot that little..."_

"Yes, come on, let's leave." Oliver agreed, picking up his things and quickly leaving the room with Drippy, watching Esther and Swaine as if wanting them to stay.

Good thing as well, because as soon as Oliver was out of the room, Swaine turned on Esther. "I cannot believe you!" He shouted. "You want to know where I get those scars, burns, cuts?" He asked, not waiting to hear what she had to say. "I got them from living 15-effing-years alone on the street!"

Esther glared back at him, her breathing uneven and tears seemed to form in her eyes. "Pull yourself together! You aren't the one who lives in a nightmare every night!" Swaine shouted, his gaze falling to the floor. "You aren't the one who is hated."

He felt the girl rush past him, her arm lightly hitting his. "You don't know anything about me!" She growled as Oliver slowly poked his head into the room, watching Esther run past him. "Let's go!"

Oliver blinked, looking over at Swaine once more before running quickly after the girl. "Come on, Swaine."

* * *

"Another Inn, another nightmare." Swaine muttered as he sat on his bed, running his hand through his messy hair, sighing as he pulled off his shirt, throwing it across the room.

Something was bothering him, but he had no idea what, the feel of the cloth under his scarred back was anything but calming, Esther had stayed away from him that day, talking to the fairy and Oliver if she needed to.

He let his mind dash across the world to his brother, tucked away in bed. Then he pointedly turned his head to the door, he could swear he heard someone a few rooms away.

Oliver and the fairy were a hall away, and as far as he knew, there were no other guests in this part.

But Esther that is.

Swaine slowly sat up, shaking the dizziness from his mind and swinging his legs over the bed, standing up and quickly unlocking his door, walking down the hall slowly to hear for anything.

The slight sound of muttering came from behind her door, he placed his ear over the door, wondering if Esther was alright, a worrying feeling tugging at his chest. "Swaine..."

That was his name, why was she saying his name?

"Esther..." He whispered anyway, tapping his foot gently.

The sound of sobbing was what got him next. "No... please, don't go." He heard the sound of her voice, and he gingerly pushed the door open, stepping in and closing it.

Esther's covers were tugged up around her, tossing and turning in her bed. Her hair was down and in a slight mess. "Esther?"

Swaine gently moved into the room until he was standing by her bed. "Swaine, no..." He raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was dreaming. "Please... please don't go."

Taken aback, he slowly started to untangle the covers from the girl, brushing some hair away from her face. "Esther?" He whispered, making a 'shh' like noise as she sobbed in her sleep.

"No! Swaine! Stop... please, no, do-don't leave me..."

"I'm not leaving you, I'm right here you silly girl."

Swaine knew she was within a dream, locked out from the real. "Wake up, come on, I'm not gone, I'm here, I'm sitting on your bed." He said, brushing some hair from her forehead and leaning down.

He gingerly placed a kiss upon her head, letting his lips trail down to her cheek. "I'm here, I'm not gone." Swaine had no idea what he was doing, what his body was doing. "Wake up, you silly girl." He muttered, his lips finding hers by mistakes.

What in the world was he doing, he gently moved his other to the other side of her body, not daring to break the kiss just yet.

Then he felt her kissing back.

Arms wrapped around his neck.

He broke the kiss to see Esther hugging him closely, the girl shaking with fear. "Never." She whispered, her gaze meeting his off-colour eyes.

"Never what?"

"Leave again."

* * *

**I'm not sure what happened at the end, I'll most likely be writing more of these two as I find them cute, and next time they'll be better IC because I'll have a little more time****_!_**

**- Dustily**


	2. Chapter 2

**After my mother happened to read upon this story, she asked what happened next... and well, I hadn't planned out a next, so it took me a few... weeks? Anyway, I guess enjoy!**

**I don't name the towns or where they could be because I'm yet to play the game as I said before. But I try and work out little details to show where they are. Just to add, I do try to keep this in the main story line, but that is bloody hard sometimes when you haven't played the game xD**

* * *

Swaine carefully drunk his coffee the next morning, swirling the hot drink around his mouth as he sipped at it again, letting the bitter liquid set for a minute before swallowing. Looking down at his cup with a slight glare.

"You slept well, Swaine?" Oliver asked with a raised eyebrow, his head cocked to one side as he starting eating his pear, taking a quick splash of water, a neat smile fitted upon his face.

Swaine looked up, watching as the fairy took a bite of his honey-bread. "Yes, thank you for asking." He muttered, taking a bite of his sandwich. "And yourself?"

"Blimey! Where did 'ya find those manners?" The fairy laughed. "Esther been fighin' with 'ya 'bout it? 'Ya two sound like an ol' married couple!" He added, chuckling louder.

Swaine, all of sudden, sat up, straightening his back and doing a quick look around the room. "No. I was just tryin' be nice." He said, lifting his cup to his lips and drinking once more.

"Nice? Swaine? Did I miss something?" Swaine felt his heart skip a beat and a lump growing in his throat as Esther entered the room, feeling the warmth from her body as she took a _very_ close seat next to his, he swore he felt her arm hit his.

Oliver looked up, smiling. "Oh, nothing really, Esther, Swaine just asked how I slept and Drippy wanted to make a big deal out of it." The boy laughed. "Anyway, I slept very well, thanks, how about you Esther?"

Swaine noted that Esther had a slight blush upon her cheeks. "Yes, I slept fine, little nightmare, but nothing I couldn't... uh, wake up from and forget."

Swaine let out a slightly obvious sigh. Oliver's face turned sad. "Oh! I'm sorry to hear that, what was the nightmare about, have you any clue?" The young boy asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

Swaine coughed, turning his head to look at Esther. "Yes, what _was_ it about, hm? I heard you yelling all the way from my room and you're a good, two, three doors away." He said.

Esther glared back. "Oh, aren't you one to talk." She muttered, shaking her head and turning back to Oliver and the fairy.

It was then Swaine saw her hair was undone, the waves of golden flowing down her back. _"Huh, she doesn't have her hair down most days."_ He thought, gently drawing lines on the table with his hand, trying to hear what they were saying while still in his own mind of thinking. Because...

He had kissed Esther.

Esther had kissed back.

Even just thinking about the sweet taste of her lips made him smile slightly. He wondered what had gone through Esther's mind, were his lips bitter? Had she enjoyed it? Had she even wanted it?

"Maybe we should move on again? There's another battle up ahead, I can feel it." Oliver told them, rising from his chair.

Esther quickly got up, bringing Swaine back to reality. "Hm?" He asked, looking around. "We off? Alright." He nodded, getting to his feet fast.

"What's up with him?" Swaine heard Oliver ask Esther, the boy was a bit cocky now and then, but his heart was in the right place.

Esther seemed away, it took her a good minute to see Oliver had asked her something. "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing, he's always been a bit jumpy, his background and all."

For once, it made Swaine slightly pleased to have the background he did. If he was at all jumpy, it was easy to use that to blame for it. "Are we going?" He muttered, pushing past Oliver and Esther, and stepping over the fairy.

"Sure, mun, let's go Ollie-boy!"

* * *

"Where are we?" Esther asked as they walked along the water, dipping her feet in now and then when the waves came up.

"Well, we aren't in Al-Mamoon, and we aren't in Ding Dong Dell, but we happen to be in a dark, watery-ish place." Swaine muttered. "Where in the heavens do you think? We're in Hamelin, princess." He said.

Oliver walked ahead of their little party. "Maybe we should rest for a bit?" He asked, trying to bypass what they were speaking about.

"Sure, Oliver! That sounds like a good plan." Esther said, smiling at the younger boy. "Why are we here again if I may ask?"

"I'm not sure, Mr. Drippy said it would be good to come here." Oliver told the girl as he sat down on the darkish sand.

_Speaking of that little..._

Swaine sighed as Drippy jumped along, taking a seat next to Oliver. "Oi, why not go in the water and have a little' swim, eh?" He pointedly said these words to Esther who was watching the slightly dark waters.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea..." Swaine said, remembering back to oh so many years ago. Back then, the waters had been slightly clearer, but even then it was dark as hell.

Esther was already pulling off her shoes. "Oh, shut up, Swaine, I'll be fine." She said, walking down to the water edge and dipping her foot into it.

"And what happens when I have to come in and save you? How many flipping times have you even been in water?" Swaine asked, shaking his head slightly as the girl padded into the waves, letting her hair down as she jumped within the waves. "This is Hamelin, Esther! Not Al-Mamoon! That water is deep and deadly, it is not a children's pool!"

Esther laughed as she swam around the waves. "I'll be fine Swaine. I've been in water about... five times in my life? And I know it isn't a children's pool... but I'm no child." She said, hands on her hips as she swam under the waves.

Oliver watched her. "Esther! Didn't you want your swimming suit?" He yelled over the slight breeze that always came with the water.

"No way! I am not going to take off my clothes and put that on with you boys here, no way." She said, standing up in the water that went just above her hips. "I'll dry off." She said, hands crossed over her chest.

Swaine sighed, seeing he'd lost this small war by a long shot. "Alright... just be careful." He muttered, not daring to sit down. He'd gone hours without sitting down when he was younger, running down streets and climbing over gates. He smiled, remembering his slightly younger days.

After all he wasn't _that_ old, right?

Sure, the years had taken a toll on him, and he'd never look like 'Gascon' again, not that he ever wanted to. He still had his stubbornness and leadership, but over the years he'd become more clam he liked to think, even if he put up walls around himself.

Which were being slowly broken down every day, a little sunlight shining through the holes made by these silly children. A smile twitching at his lips every now and then. It was fun, and he'd be sad when it's over.

Swaine looked up, blinking away what he'd remembered of his old self. Oliver sat next to him with Drippy hiding in his cape. His eyes were slightly shut, as if he were trying to sleep but also trying to stay awake. The oldest man looked over at the waves where Esther was playing in the dark water.

"That girl is going to get into trouble one of these days." He muttered, shivering from the cold. He wasn't used to it any more, the cold that his old home carried through the wind and breeze, but it would hardly ever snow. And Swaine was ever-so-pleased of that, he had never liked the cold, and after seeing the frosty snowflakes, he'd told himself that one time was good enough.

Swaine coughed, shaking his head as he looked back at the water, blinking as he saw no Esther playing in the water. "Esther?" He called rather loudly, walking down to the edge and looking out into the waves that had started to become rough. "Esther!" He yelled, awaking the fairy and Oliver from their dosing.

"Eh? What's happenin'?" Drippy said, jumping to his feet as Oliver quickly got up, seeing something must be wrong. "Where's Esther?" The fairy added.

Oliver ran to the waters edge, standing next to Swaine as the water ross higher and higher. "Esther?!" He yelled, seeing a slightly panic-like look cross Swaine's face. "Where's Esther?"

"I don't know!" Swaine shouted, shaking his head as he looked over the waves again. "These waters were always bad this time of the year! Damn that silly girl!" He yelled as he saw a hand come out of the water.

"Help!" Esther shouted, trying to swim back as a wave crashed over her. "Help me! I can't swim this deep!"

Swaine growled, he watched as Oliver started pulling off his cape. "I'll get her, stay here, I do not need _more _people bloody dying on me!" He yelled, pushing Oliver away from the water and quickly running in to the dark waves, ducking under the water as a wave crashed over him.

Esther tried swimming closer to Swaine, but was pulled down by the water as she tried, sending her down into the deep. "Help me!" She shouted, her head just above the waves as she screamed, a wave crashing over her again.

"Esther!" Swaine blinked, hearing another voice as he swam closer to his friend. "Esther, swim up!" The same voice called. Swaine stopped, trying to see where the voice had come from.

He heard the sound of splashing and Esther screaming as a wave went over him, sending him back to the shore. "I've got you, you're fine!" He shock away the dizziness from his mind, patting his head to get the water out of his ears as Oliver tried helping him up. "You're safe now."

Swaine knew that voice, he'd grown up with that voice, heard it in his nightmares as it slowly faded away with his father's dying words.

"_Marcassin._"

Esther started spitting out water along with the name as she shock her head. "Please, Miss Esther, lie down, you're going to be slightly dizzy after what you've just been through." The prince said, pushing the girl down by the shoulders and quickly looking her over.

And weirdly, this upset Swaine, a lot.

"How on Earth did you find us, Your Majesty?" Oliver but in before Swaine could say something.

Marcassin looked up, shaking the water from his long blue hair slightly. "I was walking, as weird as it may sound to you, I was simply taking a walk when I saw Miss Esther being thrown around in the waves." The prince said, smiling lightly at the group. "The waves are very bad this time of the year, Miss Esther, you must be more careful."

"T-thank you so much, Your Majesty." Esther said, gently sitting up, her wet hair falling down her back. "I-I would have died if you hadn't saved me."

_Liar._

Swaine glared at his brother's back, watching the prince with hard, purple eyes. "I'm sorry, did you say something, Gascon?" Marcassin said as he turned to look at the older, his childish gaze watching the older. "I didn't hear you brother."

A blush lit Swaine's cheeks as he looked at his younger brother and Esther, Oliver raised an eyebrow as well. "Uh, nothing, just, yes, well done." He muttered the last part, sighing once he saw his brother grin. "Also, my name is not Gascon." He muttered.

"You'll always be Gascon to me, you can have ten new names and all I'll remember you by is your birth name." Marcassin said, helping Esther to her feet. "Miss Esther, Sir Oliver, brother, Mr... Drippy?" He slightly asked, sighing happily once he saw the fairy nod. "I would be very honoured to have you all stay in Hamelin with me, there is a storm setting in for a few days and being out here alone would never be a kind thing to do to such a wonderful family of mine." Marcassin said, bowing to them, his wet hair falling over his face. "Miss Esther, I'm sure you can find some dry clothes from mother's room and Gascon, I'm sure there's something in your old room you can fit into." He added.

"We are the ones who should be honoured, Your Majesty!" Oliver said with a proud smile.

"Please, call me Marcassin, we're family, it's fine to call me by my name." Marcassin said, bowing once again as he started to lead the group away. "Miss Esther? Would you like to walk up here with me? The faster we get you some dry clothes, the better." He added.

Esther blushed slightly, padding quickly up next to the prince. "Why thank you, Marcassin." She smiled, placing her hand over her heart for a minute before walking next to the younger of the brothers.

Swaine growled slightly, walking next to Oliver as he pulled his jacket around him, feeling the chilly air on his wet skin. "The faster we get there, the faster we can leave." He muttered.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you happy to see your brother?"

"Yes and no." Swaine said, not wanting to carry on, he walked past Oliver to walk behind Marcassin and Esther, sighing as he heard them talk about what they'd been up to. "The sooner we get there... the sooner we can leave."

* * *

**I am very sorry for any and all mistakes! There will be more, this story is far from over! It isn't a one-shot anymore!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Whisker wires! Thank you so much for the Reviews! It means a lot more than you'd think to get them!**

**I really hope I got these guys right, or semi-right, Marcassin is a lot harder to write as is Swaine when they're around each other, so that's why they're most likely slightly OOC. Sorry for mistakes! I try my hardest, but they slip through.**

* * *

Marcassin smiled as he lead the group down the hallways, people stepping past them and watching Oliver, Esther and mainly Swaine very closely. "Right, mother's room is on the right, Esther, take what ever you need from there. Gascon, I'm sure you remember where your room is?" He asked his older brother, smiling as Esther walked past him.

"Yeah, yeah, second door on the... left?" Swaine asked, as if he didn't really remember, because who could forget where their own room used to be? Not like he ever really stayed in there, but he knew full well where it was.

Marcassin nodded. "Yes, bother." He nodded, turning to Oliver. "Would you like to see the fountains? When Gascon and Esther get back, we can have some dinner." The prince said, carefully running a hand through his hair as he watched Swaine walk down the hall.

"Sure! That sounds great! But, don't you wish to get some new clothes?" Oliver asked as Swaine turned, walking down to where the door was.

"Oh, no, no! It's fine, mine will dry quickly."

Swaine rolled his eyes slightly as he heard the voice of his brother. "He was nicer as a kid." He muttered, shaking his head and quickening his pace, gently tapping on the doors as he went, always hitting on the left side.

The man stopped, his hand pressing on to a door. The wood was clean and glossy, and the name was written into the wood using a golden paint. "Gascon." He read aloud, sighing as he gently pushed opened the door, stepping into the room and closing it after.

Swaine felt a tug at his heart as he saw the dusty bed, the floor was also dirty and there were cobwebs everywhere. He could see easily that his room had been left the way he left it, the bed wasn't even made. He laughed slightly. "I know why." He said, turning back to the door where a sign hung on the knob. "Room of Gascon, do not enter." He read, taking the sign off the handle and blowing on it, removing the thick layer of dust and dirt.

He used to write like these, Swaine remembered, running his hand along the writing on the sign as he gently tried to remember the last time he would have signed something with his birth name. After a minute of looking over the sign, he hung it back upon the handle, walking into the room fully.

"Gascon, Gascon, Gascon." He muttered, walking over to where a tall bookcase stood as he pulled a book from the others. "Ringing Bells." Swaine said, opening the book which read at the top: 'Gascon's book, do not read unless read to.' _How full of myself did I use to be?_

Swaine read the first page aloud to himself. "Bells rung from the high towers of a Kingdom, their ringing sounding upon the whole land. A young boy of only the age of ten walked the streets, his head down as people walked past him." Swaine smiled, remembering this book well, it was about a street boy who grew up to be a bell-ringer in his town. He didn't know why, but it made him think of himself.

A drop of water on his nose quickly reminded him of needing dry clothes, and soon. "Uh..." Swaine looked around before seeing his closet, the one thing in his room that was hardly used. He wore the same clothes for days at a time, going to bed late, so he had no time to find anything else to wear.

Swaine opened the closet, he hadn't nearly as many clothes as Marcassin, and most of them wouldn't fit now, but mother always had a thing of getting things much too big for you so you'd grow into them... he just hoped he wouldn't look like a clown.

Looking through some of the boxes, he pulled out clothes that were his size and put others neatly back in the boxes, not wanting to mess up the nice look of the closet, after all, he hardly wanted to stay here again, so keeping everything the way it was would be best, and dust would easily take over the room again.

Swaine looked over the clothes he'd found in his size, which were few and... truly, he'd wear a dress before wearing a few of these. "Right..." The man carefully placed a few of them in a pile to put back, taking out the ones that weren't as weird-looking and placing them on a chair.

After finding three that weren't too bad-looking, he quickly threw the others into a box, dusting off a clock that still seemed to work and seeing he'd been away for a good twenty minutes, he sighed, nodding to himself that must be slow, it seemed so much longer as he started taking his shirt off.

Placing his wet clothes on the floor, he pulled the first T-shirt on, finding it much too small for him as he tried not to break the careful golden threading as he placed it with the others. Picking up a dark black shirt, he coughed, dusting it off quickly and throwing it over his head, it wasn't tight, which was a good sign, and it didn't have some weird look to it, other than a few swirls and stars. He'd always had a thing for the night when he was younger.

Not that he truly did now... sure he liked it, but after so many nights of running and tripping, falling and slipping, the stars and the moon had lost Swaine's love, and the wonder that darkness used to be, now did nothing but scare Swaine.

But how did something so very right, scare the runner of the night?

Because he wasn't Gascon, he was Swaine, Swaine had worked hard for what he had, Swaine had run through streets and alleyways, and Swaine had stolen things... not Gascon, Gascon liked the night, the stars, the evening breeze, not Swaine, no, no Swaine had too many run-ins to like the night now.

But still, the shirt was warm and dry, and wasn't pink or dark blue, purple or red. Then again, purple would go with his eyes, but so did black.

Swaine picked up the jeans that went with them, carefully digging around under his bed for a bag to put his wet clothes in as he threw the other shirt and jeans with the others, leaving the bag by the door and walking out, he'd come back for it later.

It felt weird not wearing a coat or not having rips in his jeans or shirt. Swaine picked up the pace, tapping each door on the right this time as he opened a door to where he heard the sound of Marcassin. "Gascon!" Marcassin said. "Oh, you look simply dashing, brother."

"Thank you, Marcassin." Swaine muttered, pulling slightly at the shirt as Oliver came over.

"We're just waiting for Esther and then we'll have dinner." Oliver said, Marcassin nodded, his hair had dried and so had his clothes. Swaine nodded, replacing his bored look with a slightly fake smile, he sighed, he'd never look as good as his brother...

So why would Esther even like him? Marcassin was so much more handsome, kinder, nicer... while he? He was Swaine, a no life thief with a prince for a brother...

"I'm so sorry, I hope I wasn't holding anything up, I didn't like leaving anything out, it was all so neat and tidy in there that it seemed almost rude of me..." Esther whispered as she pushed open the door, wearing a dress looking thing, it looked rather pretty on her, even so, Swaine liked her old clothing better.

Swaine was about to say something when Marcassin pushed past him and over to Esther, taking her hand and gently pressing his lips to it. "You weren't holding anything up, Gascon just got here and we were waiting for all of about one minute for you." He said, smirking slightly. "You look lovely, Miss Esther." Marcassin added.

"Oi? Some of us little' people down 'ere like havin' food while they're young 'ya know!" Drippy yelled, standing next to Oliver. Marcassin looked up and quickly nodded.

"Why yes, how very rude of me, come, we'll have dinner right away." The younger of the brothers said, his eyes gazing at Esther once more before starting to walk ahead of the group.

Esther fell in line next to Swaine as Oliver spoke with Marcassin about something ahead of them, so Swaine spoke with Esther. "You do look rather lovely." He muttered, being careful with his words.

"Thank you, Swaine." Esther said, smiling brightly at the thief. "You look very nice yourself."

Swaine felt himself blushing as they walked through a door and into a room where a table stood. "Thank you, princess." He chuckled, nodding to Marcassin as he sat down at the table. Esther sat in between the two brothers while Oliver and Drippy sat on the right side of the table.

"Please, take what you'd wish. I do hope there's something here that you all like." Marcassin said, starting pass around the food clock-wise, Oliver smiled, gently taking his fill from each dish he wanted, Drippy did the same, as did Esther, Swaine and Marcassin.

They all tuck in, gently eating the food. "Marcassin! This is lovely." Esther said, happily eating the food. Swaine nodded slowly as he gently ate his food.

"Thank you, Miss Esther. If you need anything, just ask, Bonnie will get that for you." Marcassin said with a weak smile. Swaine didn't like this, he'd never liked this, the feeling of having everything at the ring of a bell, it was good for some people, but for him? No, he didn't like it, he may be lazy, but he'd rather find his food than have it given to him.

Oliver looked up. "Who's Bonnie?" The nosy boy asked, Swaine slightly chuckled as he remembered old Bonnie.

"Still have that cat, Marcassin?" Swaine asked, ignoring Oliver for a minute, raising an eyebrow as the two brothers locked eyes with each other.

Marcassin nodded. "Yes, yes! Remarkable, isn't it? Sixteen-years-old and he's still going strong." The brother said. "Bonnie doesn't keep him locked up, so I'd guess that's why, he's very... _street-wise_..." The younger muttered the last part. "Poor thing will he _heartbroken_ if he ever _leaves_." He said.

Swaine glared slightly at his brother, shaking his head as he looked at Oliver. "Bonnie used to be our... Grandma, not our real one, but she used to take care of us when mother and father couldn't." Swaine said, it felt weird telling them this. "She has a cat named Connie, silly old thing."

Esther chuckled, making both Marcassin and Swaine turn their heads to look at the young blonde. "Connie and Bonnie? What lovely names! They go so well together." She said happily, taking a drink from her glass.

"Yes, yes they do, Miss Esther!" Marcassin nodded, smirking slightly as he ate. Oliver looked around the table, quickly picking out that Swaine wasn't too happy.

"So, Marcassin, I was wondering, how has life been?" Oliver said, smiling at the older as Marcassin started speaking, Drippy was eating quietly.

Swaine awkwardly coughed, looking at his hands, he wasn't at all hungry anymore. "Are you alright, Swaine... you're acting, well, a bit weird." Esther said, gently lowering her hand on to his.

And Swaine stopped, taking a sharp intake of breath as she moved her hand to gently run it along his leg before pulling it away, remembering back to last night... had they really come that far in a day? Or had the waters of Hamelin simply made him dizzy. "Well?" Swaine blinked, remembering Esther had asked him... what was it again?

"Eh? Oh! Yes, I'm fine, Esther." The older male muttered, a blush covering his cheeks as he looked away from Esther, pulling a hand through his messy hair. "Just... a bit, I don't know..." He muttered, bowing his head to watch his drink.

Oliver soon started speaking to Drippy, while Esther and Marcassin joined in now and then, Swaine simply sat there, his lips pressed into a tight line on his face.

Esther slowly stood up as the clock ticked on to ten. "I think I may go to bed, I've had an awfully long day." She spoke so royal-like, as if she wondered what to say, worried of what words to use around Marcassin.

Oliver nodded. "Goodnight Esther, sleep well." He said, gently nibbling at some bread he was eating, flashing the older girl a smile as Drippy waved to her.

Marcassin rose to his feet, stepping away from his chair and walking quickly to Esther's side. "Sleep well, my dear." He said, taking her hand and gently pressing a kiss to it like he had earlier that day. He smirked at her, slowly taking his seat again.

Swaine glared at Marcassin, sitting taller as he watched his brother's little act. Or was it really an act, this was something Swaine hadn't really been thinking about, he didn't want to. Rising from his chair, Swaine stepped away from the table, bowing to Esther, replacing his frown with a broken smile. "Goodnight, please sleep well." He said, wondering if she could see the sadness in his eyes.

A thought crossed his mind and he chuckled quietly. "To my understanding, my room is next to where you'll be staying. So if you need me, I'll be right there." Swaine muttered under his breath, but still loud enough for Marcassin to hear. Swaine smirked as he sat down, seeing he'd pissed off his younger brother.

"Thank you Oliver, Drippy, thank you Marcassin, thank you... Swaine." Esther said, she seemed slow to say his name, as if thinking through his words. "Goodnight." She said as she padded out of the room and slowly made her way down the hall.

Oliver and Drippy were still eating away, as if they hadn't eaten in days. The food in Hamelin was very nice, and Swaine sighed, looking down at how much he'd eaten... maybe he could go get something later when everyone was asleep.

Silence had over taken the room since Esther left.

Marcassin and Swaine shared a glare now and then, eyes locked as if speaking would break something. While Oliver and Drippy were muttering quietly to each other.

It wasn't long before all four of them left the table. Oliver going first with Drippy, Marcassin left as soon as they were out the door, but not before looking back at Swaine once more. "Goodnight, _brother._"

And Swaine left after five minutes of being alone in the dark, his footsteps were soft and slow, he gingerly opened the door to his room, swinging the sign on to the handle and crashing on to the bed as the darkness fell over him.


	4. Chapter 4

**I am so delighted at how much people are enjoying this story, thank you again!**

**Keeping these guys IC is hard, so I am sorry for any parts that are overly OOC.**

* * *

A knock awoke Swaine from his sleep, his eyes blinking open and sitting up, as if waiting for someone to pop out and attack him. Upon looking around the dark room, he nodded, seeing no one in sight.

Then he heard the knocking again.

He sighed, swinging his legs out and rubbing the back of his neck. He never liked be woken up like this, it reminded him of being on the streets, every minute, one eye open to make sure he wasn't being followed. Gently standing up, Swaine made his way over to the door, yanking it open. "What the hell, there are people sleeping here." Swaine growled, flicking his eyes to where Esther was sleeping, the room next door to his.

"I am sorry, sir, but Your Majesty has asked to see you." A small, thin man said, yellow eyes staring up at Swaine. "One is sorry for waking you, Prince Gascon, but if you'll please follow me?"

Swaine sighed. "Give me a minute." He muttered, picking his coat up from the pile of clothes, luckily, it seemed dry now. He muttered a swear as he closed the door behind him, flicking the sign as a warning to the man. "What does my _dear_ brother want?" He asked.

"I am sorry, I do not know, I am simply here to take you to him." He said, starting to walk down the hall. "My name is Marcon if you must know." He added.

Swaine blinked as he followed. "Marcon-?"

"I was named after Your Majesty and you, sir. My mother and father were not the best name makers in Hamelin." Marcon said, holding a door open for Swaine as they walked down the dark hallways.

Swaine chuckled. "You could have had worse." He pointed out. "They could have just called you Gascass?" The older laughed, Marcon huffed a chuckle out as well.

"I guess. Anyway, I do hope you enjoy your stay, Prince Gascon, go through here, Your Majesty is waiting for you." Marcon said, walking quickly away from the street-wise prince and down the ever dark halls.

Swaine smirked, that kid was alright, his mother and father were a bit weird for naming him after them, but it didn't bother the man as he walked through the door, the breezy night air meeting him.

"Brother, hello." Marcassin called, his hair was gently waving in the air, going from side to side. He stood, looking over the still city before he turned to Swaine. "I was waiting for you."

Swaine nodded. "I can see that, _Your Majesty_." He joked, bowing to his brother. "Enough of that, why the Hell did you send that kid to wake me up? Couldn't this have waited till morning."

"There would be other people awake then, brother." Marcassin said, watching Swaine with hard eyes. "Other people to wonder what we're talking about."

Swaine rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall. "And what _are_ we talking about?" He asked, Marcassin turned back around, watching the city below again. "Marcassin?"

"You love her... don't you."

"Who?"

"Miss Esther."

"What?" Swaine coughed, pressing his body against the wall as Marcassin turned around. "No! I-I, why would you even think that?"

Marcassin watched his brother, shaking his head slightly. "You don't think I can't catch your staring?" He asked. "It's Miss April all over again... isn't it?"

Swaine's eyes grew dark as he walked over to his brother, looking down at him. "Never, never bring April up, she was hurt enough, there's no need for her name to be placed between this fight." He muttered. "Also, don't think I haven't seen _you_ staring."

The younger smirked. "Poor little April." He muttered, breezing past Swaine to stand by the wall, not before giving his brother a hard kick to the leg. "Did they ever find the poor thing? Or did you cover that up as well?" Marcassin growled as he watched Swaine, chuckling as he watched the older jump from one leg to the other, a thin flow of blood running down his leg.

"Shut up, Marcassin!" Swaine shouted, not caring if someone heard him, he had the right to bark at his brother, didn't he? "What's done is done, I had almost nothing to do with it."

"_Almost._" Marcassin said, rolling the word out, as if trying to remember its meaning. "So what do you think will happen to Esther? She's such a dear..."

Swaine kept glaring at his brother, trying to work out where the younger male was going with this. He carefully noted that his brother was black under the eyes, and they had a rather odd glow to them. "What happened to the little brother I used to know?" Swaine asked, he didn't want to fight Marcassin on this, because it wasn't an even fight and would never be.

"_Jealousy_, is a weird thing, _Swaine_, but I would guess you know _nothing_ about that." Marcassin hissed out. "You may return to your room, I'll see you in the morning, don't be too late... Also, get your leg cleaned up, you look like you just came from the _streets._" The younger of the brothers walked away, leaving an uneasy feeling in the breezy night air.

Swaine went back to his room, limping down the dark hallways. A weird homely feeling of guilt creeping into his heart as he carefully pushed open the door to the bathroom, cleaning the wound and falling back into the covers of bed, unlocking the door to his deepest nightmares.

* * *

Swaine gently opened his eyes, looking around his room as someone knocked at the door. "Prince Gascon, it's time for you to wake up." Someone called from the other side. Swaine let out a loud sigh, banging his head back on to the pillow. His eyes were red from crying, and he had a killer headache, waking up at dawn wasn't something he wanted to do.

He wondered if Marcassin wanted him to suffer.

"Please, Prince Gascon, it's time for Breakfast." The man said again, it wasn't Marcon, he sounded older than the boy who'd taken him to Marcassin last night.

Swaine sighed, pulling away the covers and rolling out of the bed. "Coming, one minute." He muttered, blinking the sleep away from his eyes as he dragged himself into the bathroom, standing up and splashing water on his face quickly. He pulled his coat on, happy to see his old clothes were all dry now as he opened the door, looking at the man who stood there.

He was a tall lad, a smiling face with a childish glow coming from his eyes. "Prince Gascon, please follow me." He said, his black hair was well brushed and he had round glasses over his yellow, cat-like eyes. "My name is Kit, myself and Marcon will be your main helpers while your in Hamelin."

"It's very nice to meet you, if I had even a penny on me, I'd tip you." Swaine muttered, following Kit with a slight limp in his step.

The halls were brightly lit this morning, people cleaning the floors and getting ready for another day. Swaine sighed as he watched them, wondering if they had families they should be with. One of the women saw him watching them, she quickly stood, bowing to the brother of Marcassin.

Swaine sighed, quickly following after Kit, he didn't like feeling as if he were better than anyone, because he wasn't, not in the longest shot.

Kit came to a stop, holding open a door. "Thank you, Kit." Swaine said, walking through the door to see Marcassin, Oliver, the fairy and Esther eating their Breakfast.

Limping over to a chair, the oldest sat down, muttering a good-morning of a kind in which the others returned. He slowly started to eat, out of the corner of his eye he saw Marcassin watching him. "Can I help you, Marcassin?" Swaine asked rather loudly, placing down his drink and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing, I was just wondering why you happened to be limping, dear brother." Marcassin asked, a worried tone picking at his voice. Swaine looked fully at his brother, who sadly looked at him, a glimmer in his eyes. _'Try and get out of this one.'_

Swaine growled slightly as he turned his head away, sitting up taller. "It's nothing, I hit my leg on the bed last night."

"Bad enough to make it bleed?"

"And how would you know it was bleeding?"

"There happens to be blood on the cloth, brother."

Swaine looked down at his leg, letting out a loud sigh as Marcassin proudly nodded. "Yes, I hit it bad enough for the skin to break and for it to bleed and make me limp. Please, go back to what you were talking about..."

Oliver and Drippy quickly went back to quietly speaking with Marcassin, voices low whispers as Esther looked at Swaine. "What?"

Esther shock her head, a playful smile on her face. _'Here we go again...'_

"I hit my leg on the side of my bed, breaking the skin and making it bleed and I happen to be older than you all, and my legs are a lot weaker from a lot of falling on them, so that's why." Swaine growled out, knowing his voice had a slightly uneven tone to it.

Esther blinked. "Yeah, you already said that, but I was wondering why you were crying?"

"What?"

"Crying? C-R-Y-I-N-G."

"Yes, I know what crying is Esther, but I wasn't crying..." Swaine muttered, starting to eat his bread-roll._ 'That girl is smart as Hell if she can see that._'

Esther rolled her eyes. "One, I heard you limping down the hallway last night. Two, I heard you crying last night. Three, your eyes are red." She said, smirking at her cleverness.

"One day, you are gonna get into trouble with how clever you are." Swaine muttered, shaking his head. "You're acting like a princess." He muttered, catching himself staring as he quickly looked away.

Esther smirked. "Princess Esther." She laughed. Swaine smiled before his gaze turned to Marcassin, his eyes were hard and slightly stony.

"Gascon? I hope Kit was nice, he's been a bit jumpy as of late, his wife just had a child." Marcassin said, taking a sip from his cup. "Named it something with an 'a'... it'll come to me."

Swaine closed his eyes. "Oh, really? He seemed very nice. Would of given him a tip if I had any money on me at the time." He bit down on his lip.

"Ah, yes it was... App? Appy... April...?" Marcassin smirked, watching his brother shake slightly. "Apple! That's right! It was Apple."

"Oh my, that is a lovely name." Oliver said, Marcassin nodded. "May I ask..."

Swaine clapped his hands over his ears, his eyes closed as he started shaking more, opening one eye to see Esther looking at him worried. "Swaine?" She asked, when he didn't say anything back she stood up, pulling his hands away from his ears. "You OK?" She asked in a whisper.

"I didn't do it..." Swaine said quietly, shaking his head to her.

Esther pulled him out of his chair. "Marcassin, Oliver, I think Swaine needs to get outside a bit, he isn't too used to being inside much." She said, quickly pulling Swaine away from the table.

"Alright, don't be too long, Esther, you can never trust a _thief_." Marcassin said rather loudly, pressing his dislike for the word as he made it last.

"But you can trust a _friend_." Esther returned, quickening her pace from the room as she pulled Swaine with her.


End file.
